The Hero Quest and Sinxay

In our retelling, Sinxay, as a bodhisatta-hero, follows the classic archetypal hero quest, summarized by Joseph Campbell in The Hero with a Thousand Faces: “A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man.”

Susan Mackey-Kallis in her book, The Hero and the Perennial Journey Home in American Film, elaborates on the importance of understanding the hero’s quest, and lists six stages of evolution in the hero’s journey. We include here a table that matches these six stages with corresponding scenes from Sinxay.

In our fantasy map of Sinxay’s World below you can see where Muang Pengchan is located, along with the kingdom of the khuts and nagas. Indra, who so often came to the rescue of Sinxay is seen in his heavenly kingdom in the upper left. In the upper right is the heavenly kingdom of the nyak god, Vedsuvan. In the earthly kingdom you can see all the meandering paths taken by the bodhisatta-hero Sinxay and other characters in the story.